


Ignorance Is Bliss

by Sillva



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Identities, F/M, Family Drama, Future Fic, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, One Shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2018-10-25 18:17:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10769742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sillva/pseuds/Sillva
Summary: The last thing Cinder Fall remembers is standing above the funeral pyre that had once been Beacon Academy, but then nothing. When she woke, she found herself in an unfamiliar place with no knowledge of how she came to there. Will the truth that she uncovers lead her to her destiny, or will a new path open to her.





	1. Prologue

I have been having the same recurring nightmare for what seems like a few years now. This dream would always start the same way. I would find myself standing upon a ruined tower in the dead of night.

A Grimm far too large to be real would always be perched there beside me, its glowing red eyes always staring into mine, or perhaps through mine. I would always want to look away, but would find myself unable.

In the distance I could always make out the faint sounds of combat. There was always the crack of gunfire, the clank of metal against metal, and the horrific screams of those who were unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the carnage.

I would always try not to focus on the world outside the tower. It was too horrific, but the dream would normally have other plans. Even if I tried to look away, I would always find my gaze drawn back. I would always see young men and women fighting for their lives against a seemingly endless horde of beast and machine alike. Some would always make it out, while others would always fall.

It was quite formulaic after a while, but I could never get used to this. I’m not sure if I would want to. I just want it to stop and the worst part was still yet to come.

The true horror would always be preceded by a terrible screeching noise. When the noise finally stopped, she would arrive, a red haired girl with green eyes that dressed in bronze battle armor. Girl was the most appropriate term, at least given the fact that she couldn’t have been any older than twenty.

The girl was so young, but her expression was always so hard. Sharp and determined. She hated me, wanted to kill me. That much I’m sure of but, the reasons why would always evade me.

She would never say what I did to draw her ire, but the girl would never back down. She would come after me with everything she had and I would some how always win. At that time she would always pose the same question. “Do you believe in destiny?”

“Yes.” The answer would always come to me so easily and once given I would always take the poor girl’s life. She would never cry or beg, but I could always see the pain in her eyes. The despair in her defeat was palpable.

Then as soon as the girl’s ashes settled on the broken floor another would appear. An even younger girl with watery eyes, eyes that shown in unsettling silver light. She would always cry out for the girl who had come before her and then the world would disappear in a flash of white.

In this brief moment agony would become my only company. Then when the white finally faded to black, I would wake.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

When I awoke it was to the infuriating blare of an alarm. The alarm seemed to have a certain rhythm to it. It was not unlike the kind you would hear a scroll admit, but it wasn’t a tune that I recognized. Of course that fact by itself wasn’t all that alerting, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember even setting one the night before which did raise a few red flags.

I tried to reassure myself that it was just the work of one of my subordinates. Maybe they wanted to get an early start to the day and squeeze in some extra training. I had ordered them to make sure they're prepared for what was to come, so that would make sense.

However, if that was truly the case it would mean they knowingly set an alarm that I would doubtlessly be in earshot of without consulting me first. Surely neither Emerald nor Mercury would be so foolish, or at least she hoped not. One simply didn’t interrupt the beauty sleep of Cinder Fall and expect to live long enough to tell the tale.

When I finally raised myself up to investigate the infernal racket I took one look around and froze. “Where am I?” I didn’t recall falling asleep in such a place and if I didn’t know where I was, something was very wrong.

This place wasn’t my dorm room back at Beacon nor was it any of my usual hideouts, or even a hotel room. Though it did seem to be a bedroom of some sort, it just wasn’t one that I recognized in the slightest. However, what made this realization all the more unsettling was how closely it seemed to match my personal tastes. The blinds to the room were closed and there were no lights on, so the room was quite dark making visibility poor at best. On top of that, something seemed to be obstructing my left eye, but I could still make out a few things around me. The room was nice and out of everything there were only a few questionable pieces scattered about. I would have approved of just about everything else in the room. The décor, the furniture, even the bedding I was wrapped in were to my liking. Yet, I didn’t know this place. How curious.

Continuing to take in the room, I finally located the source of that blasted noise. Just as I originally suspected, it was a scroll alarm. The scroll in question was resting on one of two night stands that flanked the king sized bed she was in and it was on her side. Since it was in arm’s reach I quickly ripped it off the nightstand to silence it, but the moment I got a good look at it, something about it caught my eye. The scroll wasn’t like any I had seen before. It was slightly smaller and sleeker, but it also looked far more advanced than even the experimental ones you usually found on the Atlas black market. I realized this fact the moment I had touched it because when I made contact the thing not only silenced itself, but it greeted me as it came alive. I watched as it unlocked itself and started to project an elaborate interface before my eyes.

Many of the icons were unlabeled and there were quite a few that I didn’t recognize, but after clicking through a few of them, I found that all of the usual things were still there. I had the call history, messages, contacts, camera, internet, and the calendar. All you could ever need to learn everything about a person right in the palm of my hand. I always found it funny how dangerous such conveyances could be when one wasn’t careful with them.

Eager to get to the bottom of this strange situation I began systematically checking all of the scrolls contents, starting with the call and message logs. The call logs didn’t offer much, only that the owner contacted a man by the name of Victor quite often. The messages were far more revealing however. Apparently the scroll belonged to woman named Cindy Cross, a married middle-aged housewife with a psychiatrist husband by the name of guess who? Dr. Victor L Cross. “A doctor, huh.” Well I suppose that would explain the expensive tastes, but it did nothing to explain her presence here in their house so she pressed on.

There was very little in the way of photos. She suspected as much since a message she came across earlier mentioned that the camera had been damaged at some point, but the few photos she could find seemed to primarily feature two people. The first was a tall middle aged man with messy brown hair and emerald eyes and the second a small toddler with short black hair and amber eyes. I had to assume this man was the owner’s husband and the child their own. There didn’t however, seem to be any photos of the owner herself.

A logical person would of course say that of course there wouldn’t be many photos of the owner. Why would they take photos of themselves? After all, everyone who knew who they are should by default know what they look like, and anyone who didn’t shouldn’t care. However, I knew better than to have that much faith in humanity. Though even if I didn’t understand the appeal of the “selfie”, I knew how prevalent it was in today’s modern society. So either the owner much like herself didn’t care for the silly tradition, or also like herself didn’t like standing out more then she had to.

With her stance on the selfie along with her fine tastes, I felt myself beginning to like this Cindy Cross. Though, there was still much more information that I needed so I pressed on. Still in the camera I decided to click over into the recorded videos tap and when I did, one video’s title instantly caught my eye. “To Cinder Fall. Please Watch.” I read allowed. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” I said as a slammed my finger down on the play button. With a short delay to load, the holographic display shifted and expanded to the size of your average monitor screen and shortly thereafter, a video began to play.

The video started off in a brightly lit room that looked similar if not the same as the one I was currently in. Sat in the middle of the frame was a middle aged woman who was staring intently into the camera. The moment I saw her something struck me. It was an unsettlingly familiar feeling, but one I couldn’t quite place. She was quite beautiful with her shoulder length raven black hair that was only just starting to gray and one of her eyes glowed of bright amber. The other was hidden behind her dark mane, but she could see scar tissue peeking out from the edges telling me that it might not be there at all.

The more I looked upon the woman, the stronger the unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach became. I could almost swear that this woman look just like, no that that’s not possible, it couldn’t be.

“Hello Cinder,” The woman begins as her gaze seems to catch mine and hold onto it. “I’m Cindy Cross. Though, I suspect since you have our scroll you know that already.” The woman laughed, causing me to grit my teeth. “I know you are confused and looking for answers right now so I’m just going to get straight to the point. If you’re watching this right now, that means you’re having another one of our episodes.” Episodes? What the hell is this woman talking about?! “If you want answers, what I need you to do is contact Victor. He will know what to do.” She explained and with an uneven smile she added. “He always does.” Then the woman stood up and reached towards the camera cutting the video short.

“What in Monty’s name was that!?” I screeched in frustration. I couldn’t make head or tails of what I just saw. “You couldn’t tell me anything yourself!?”

I had to take a moment to calm myself down. After taking a few deep breaths, I let out a sigh and threw off my covers so I could climb out of bed. I wasn’t sure what kind of game these people were playing, but I wasn’t going to let them do whatever they wanted. Obviously this scroll was just planted to trick me, I should’ve known better. Well nothing that could be done about that now, so I just needed a minute to get my bearings. First thing was first, however. I needed to find a light switch. Even if the scroll was a bust I still needed to inspect the rest of the room, it could hold more clues but was still too dark.

The search for light didn’t take me very long as I stumbled right into a black standing lamp a moment later. After preventing the lamp from tumbling over and muttering a curse, I clicked on the lamp illuminating the room.

Now that I had light, I allowed my eyes to once again scan over the room. Just like before I didn’t find anything particularly unusual about it, just a bed, a few nightstands, his and her dressers, a bookshelf, a walk in closet, and an attached bathroom beside the door you suspected led out into the rest of the house. Nothing really jumped out at me as worth further investigation. However, something did still catch me eye and it was what I was wearing.

Now that I could see myself properly, I noticed that I was wearing some sort of silk nightgown. There was nothing really unusual about that since I often wore such garments. However, this nightgown left less to the imagination than my standard fare, and I knew that I had no such garment in my collection. Even if I did, I would have no use for it at Beacon. That meant that I either had large gaps in my memory or that somebody had changed my clothes while I slept. If the latter was true, somebody was getting roasted alive.

Suddenly wanting to get a better look at myself, I made my way over to the walk in closet. I had noticed earlier that it had a full length mirror attached to the door which made it perfect for my purposes. However, as I approached and my reflexion became more clear I felt my mind seize. In an instant my ability to process what I was seeing had been overwhelmed and the uneasy feeling that had been pooling in the pit of my stomach ever since I watched that video was now threatening to erupt from within me. I had to shake my head clear and swallow hard to prevent it such an embarressment.

The cause of my sudden panic was the figure staring back at me from the other side of the mirror. It wasn’t me, it wasn’t Cinder Fall, it couldn’t be me, but I did know who it was. Cindy Cross. Her hair was shorter than it was in the video and the patch that covered her left eye was clearly visible, but it was definitely her. “How?” That is all I could think or say at that moment. I know who I am, I know what I am, and this isn’t it. “How are you here!?” I shouted, but Cindy wouldn’t answer.

“Who are you!?” I demanded, but the woman in the mirror still only mocked me with her mimicry. I was shaking now and could barely hold myself up. Was I hyperventilating? No, Cinder Fall doesn’t have panic attacks. Cinder Fall isn’t afraid of anything. “Stop shaking you coward!” I shouted at my own reflection.

“You know what you have to do, Cinder.” The girl in the mirror said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I hissed.

The girl in the mirror shook her head. “I already told you, Cinder. Just call him, he can help. He always does.”

“I don’t need that man, I don’t need anyone!” Am I arguing with myself? Have I gone off the deep end? No, I did that a long time ago and it never felt this wrong.

“I know you don’t Cinder, but I do. Please, if not for yourself than call him for me.” The woman in the mirror pleaded.

I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore. I had really lost my mind hadn’t I? I wasn’t sure, but this all felt so wrong. It felt like something was missing, or broken, or perhaps both. Was it me? Was I broken, but how, when? There was no way to know for sure, but I only had one way to find out. I felt my eyes rove back over towards the scroll I had left on the bed.

“Victor.” Why did that name feel so familiar on your lips? I didn’t want to think about it. I just needed to get him over here, so I forced my body to move toward the scroll. Once again the moment I touched the scroll it came to life and unlocked for me without my input. I told myself it that it doesn’t mean anything and pressed on. A moment later and I was in the contacts, there weren’t many so it wasn’t hard to find Victor’s. However, much to my dismay, his contact wasn’t listed under his actual name, but instead under dearest.

Swallowing hard, I took a second to gather myself. I couldn’t afford to look weak right now. I couldn’t let him know that this, whatever it is, was getting to me. Once I had my breathing under control and my game face in place, I finally hit the call button.

The scroll rang once, twice, three times, and then it was finally answered. “Hello, dear?” The man on the other side of the scroll greeted. He was the same man from the photos, he was Victor I was sure of it. I noticed that he seemed distracted and wasn’t looking directly at the scroll. “Is something wrong, unusual for you to call me at the office?” I couldn’t think of anything to say and my silence finally seemed to garner his attention. “Cindy?” He asked as he glanced down towards the screen.

“Try again.” I replied.

Victor looked confused for a moment, but he must have seen something in your expression. Something that told him the truth and his eyes widened before narrowing into slits. “Cinder?”

I showed him my most intimidating smile. “Greetings Victor, you have some explaining to do.”

Victor lets out a half hearted laugh. “Yeah, I suppose I do.” Then he reaches over to something out of frame, I can only assume it’s some sort of intercom since he begins to speak into it. “Hey Sue could you cancel the rest of my appointments for the day? It seems a family emergency just popped up and I need to step out.”

“No problem Doctor, I will let them all know. I hope it’s not anything serious.” A staticky female voice replied.

“Nothing we can’t handle, once you’ve done that go ahead and take the rest of the day off.” Victor went on. The staticky female voice gave an acknowledgement before cutting out. Then Victor returned his focus to me. “Stay put okay, I will be there in a few minutes and we can sort this all out.”

“Best make haste, that is of course unless you’re okay arriving to find your home burnt to the ground!” I threaten while creating a spark in one hand to push the point home.

“There will be no need. Just wait for me okay, I will be there.” I noted that he looked pained when he said those words. I had to wonder why, but ultimately it didn’t matter. I would be getting my answers soon, even if I had to force them out of him. “Alright I’m leaving the office now, I will be there soon!” He said as he ended the call.

Now once again alone with only my thoughts I didn’t know what else to do, so I waited. I just sat there poking and prodding at my face in the mirror trying in vain to dispel whatever illusion had taken hold of it. All the while the person on the other side seemed to mock me for my efforts.

Never before had I felt so frustrated with my own reflection, no not my reflection, but hers where mine should be. “Who are you?” Again I felt these words slip from my mouth, but at this point they felt hollow. It looked like me, it talked like me, but it wasn’t, it couldn’t be. This had to all just be some sort of bad dream.

///////////////////////////////////////////

I heard him entering before I saw him. The jingle of his keys gave his presence away. It was clear by the way he frantically fumbled with the lock that he was both nervous and unconcerned with stealth. Good, if he was nervous than that meant that I still had the advantage here. Not that it was even in doubt, but it’s best never to underestimate a potential enemy.

I found myself stiff when the door finally clicked, signifying that the locking mechanism had been disengaged and I watched with baited breath as it slowly slid open. A moment later the man I saw from Cindy’s scroll, the one I know to be Victor, crept in. Upon entering Victor’s eyes instantly began to scan his surroundings and when he saw nothing, he open his mouth to speak. “Cinder, I’m here!”

I made note that Victor sounded like he was on edge, like he was expecting something to leap from the shadows and take his head off at any moment. Though, I suppose he was right to be worried. With that thought I felt a smile crawl its way onto my lips, but I had to squash it quickly. That wasn’t the look I wanted to go for here.

“Cinder, where are you!? Are you in our room!?” Victor called out again as he began to push deeper into the dwelling.

“I’m right here.” I declare as I reveal myself from behind the still open door. The man spun around to stare at me with his eyes as wide as saucers. Once he could see me, I made a show of closing the door and relocking it before turning back to meet his frightened gaze.

“You shouldn’t leave the front door open like that my dear. Who knows what kind of degenerates might see it as an opportunity.” I deadpanned, and now was the right time to show him a smile. Nailed it, that should have him shaking in his boots. Or at least I thought it would.

Rather than look panicked, Victor almost seemed to relax once he saw me. His expression was mostly neutral now, but there was a small hint of relief in his eyes. It was almost like he was happy to see me. That thought was deeply unnerved me for some reason. “Good, you’re still here.” He said as he let out a long sigh.

“Is there a reason I wouldn’t be here?” I asked while raising an eyebrow for effect. “I’m the one who called you after all.” Not like there was anywhere I could have gone anyway. I’d taken a look outside after our little chat and I couldn’t recognize anything in this town at all. The only thing I could say with certainty was that this wasn’t Vale and it was far too warm to be Atlas.

“I suppose that’s true.” Victor agreed. “I suppose I was just expecting the worst after what happened last time. It’s a good thing Cindy thought ahead, probably saved us all a lot of grief.”

“Pardon?” I asked. Was that supposed to make sense?

“Oh, right, sorry.” Victor apologized, apparently sensing my confusion and realizing his mistake. “I guess you still need to be brought up to speed?” I didn’t bother responding but instead crossed my arms and leveled an impatient glare on him. “Well where should I start, introductions perhaps? I’m Dr. Victor L Cross.” I felt my glare intensifying and he must have as well since he quickly went on. “But I guess you knew that already?”  
“It is not wise to keep me waiting Victor.” I warned.

Victor actually lets out a light chuckle in response to my warning. “Oh, I know. Trust me I do. I just, think we might want to have this conversation elsewhere. We could go back to our room perhaps? Or the kitchen, I could brew us up something to drink?” He suggested.

My eyes narrowed. What is he playing at here? “Why? Give me one good reason why we cannot discuss this here and now.”

“Ah well it’s just that this news might be a bit of a shock for you. I know you didn’t take it too well before, so I just thought it’d be best for you to sit down before we got into it.” Victor explained.

“No, here will be fine.” I reply in a stern tone.

Victor still looked reluctant. “Are you sure? I really think you should sit down, perhaps have some tea? It always helps calm your nerves.”

How did he know that? Whatever, it doesn’t matter right now. Having enough of this nonsense I stepped into Victor’s guard causing the man to gasp as I delicately ran my fingers up along his chest before grabbing the collar of his shirt and slamming him back into a nearby wall pinning him to it. When I did this I saw a flash of energy reverberate from his body. He has aura, good to know. “Enough of you’re stalling! If you don’t tell me what’s going on right this instant,” I snarled while allowing my hands to heat up just enough to singe Victor’s collar without setting it ablaze. “Well let’s just say you may not like the consequences.”

“I see you haven’t changed since the last time I saw you, Cinder.” Victor deadpanned, not seeming very bothered by my intimidation. We will see how long his bravado lasts.

If Victor really wants to die so badly, it was fine by me. I was in no mood for this foolishness so I cranked up the heat a few more notches allowing the fabric of Victor’s shirt to start sizzling. “Listen Victor, I don’t who you are, but you seem to know who I am. Care to tell me how? Also exactly who Cindy is, and why I look like her?”

Victor hums in thought before replying. “Well that’s simple I suppose. You’re Cindy or rather there is no Cindy. She is just a facade of your own design. You’re her, she is you, and that is why you look the same. Also I am her husband and by the way that makes me your husband as well, so of course I know these things.” He explained.

“You must be joking?” I asked incredulously.

“Afraid not, I know you’re not very fond of jokes.” Victor replied.

“Then why don’t I recall any of this!?” I screamed at him. I didn’t even mean to, but my frustration was starting to outweigh my patience.

Luckily Victor seemed to get the point. “Ah yes we, by we I mean Cindy and I, have been trying to figure that out for awhile. Right now my theory is that it’s a side affect of my semblance.” He explained.

Okay so he has a semblance, is he being vague intentionally? “What do you mean?! What is your semblance?!” I demanded.

“My semblance is complicated, but I suppose the simplest term for it would be telepathy.” He paused for a moment, I assume to gauge my reaction, and when all I did in response was raised an eyebrow he took a breath and continued. “I can read the thoughts and feelings of those around me. Also when I’m in close proximity to other people, I can even see and interact with their memories.” Wait he can do what!? I couldn’t have heard that right, could I? Does that mean he has been able to hear my thoughts this whole time!? “Yes I have, sorry about that.”

Startled I felt my hand rip itself free from Victor’s collar like I had been the one burned and before I even realized I was moving, I had put several steps between us. Victor apologized again and offered his gratitude for releasing him before he began to adjust himself, patting down his collar and brushing off the cinders that lingered there.

Victor didn’t seem at all concerned with the fact that I had been considering immolating him. That meant one of two things. Either he didn’t think I would actually do it, which would be quite foolish. Or he simply believed I wouldn’t succeed, which was even more foolish. However, if the latter were true it would mean that this man was more dangerous than he seemed. I will need to be on guard. “You said my memory loss was caused by this semblance of yours. What did you do to me?”

Victor hummed in thought for a moment as if trying to think of the right way to explain. “You know, I’ve always found the mind to be an interesting thing. Especially the way it handles memory storage. You see when you experience something it causes the neurons in your brain to create an electrical signal. Everything you experience has its own unique signal pattern and whenever you experience something similar, it causes the neurons in your brain to recreate that signal.”

“I don’t recall asking for a lecture doctor. I asked what you did to me!” I growled.

“I’m getting to that, this is important.” Victor declared. “Now where was I? Oh right memory signals. You see when you experience something a lot the mind will ingrain the signal related to those experiences into your long term memory. However, if the neurons remain unused for too long they will go into a sort of dormant state, not gone but lost to your conscious mind.”

“Is this going somewhere Victor? I don’t see how any of this is important.” I cut in.

“Yes and you would if you could just let me finish.” Victor retorted defiantly, but when he met my glare his defiance quickly evaporated and he suddenly had to take a moment to clear his throat. “Anyway, this isn’t the only way a memory can become dormant. If for example one memory was too dramatic and/or painful for the conscious mind to handle, the mind may take drastic measures to protect itself. One such measure would be forcefully suppressing the signal that triggers the memory, effectively blocking it from your conscious mind. These are what we commonly call repressed memories.”

Does he really think I don’t know what he is doing? I wasn’t going to take his stalling any longer and I opened my mouth to say as much, but Victor beat me to it. “I’m not stalling Cinder and yes I know you know what repressed memories are. You’re quite well read and I know you have a few of your own as well. I am only mentioning all of this to make sure we’re on the same page. Context is always the key with these sorts of things.”

“Fine just get on with it!” I hissed.

“Thank you, now for the part you have been so patiently waiting for,” Was that sarcasm just now? “A bit sorry, I get a little catty when I don’t get to finish my morning coffee. Still time to brew some up though if you’re interested? No? Well anyway, as I mentioned earlier my semblance can interact with memories.”

“So you did alter my memory!” I snapped. “What did you put in my head!?”

Victor rolled his eyes an act that gave me the urge to rip the offending orbs them from his skull and shove them down his throat. I wouldn’t of course. Such an act of vulgarity was beneath me. I would usually leave an underling to handle something like that, but since I seemed to be lacking in that department at the moment and needed to do something to quell my rage I would just have to settle for burning him alive.

Likely realizing my intention Victor quickly spoke up again. “I can’t implant fake memories, if that is what you’re worried about. It just doesn’t work that way.” I met his gaze to look for any deceit. I saw nothing that struck me as odd right away. “You see I can only move around what’s already there. For example I could shift the signals around between neurons to bring certain memories to the forefront while blocking others. In this case I had simply shut down all the neurons that created older signals. So all the memories you had made before we met were blocked.” Victor explained.

“So you erased my memories?” I hissed.

“Not erased, just blocked them.” Victor corrected.

“Then why are they back now and why can’t I recall anything that’s happened to me since!?” I questioned.

“It’s like I said, it’s not intentional it’s just a side effect. My semblance doesn’t seem to last forever. So when it wears off, your old memories return to their original neurons and force the new ones to take a back seat, well at least until your mind has time to catch up and reorganize itself.” Victor explained.

Well that explains the how, but there was still one big question mark. “Why did you do this?”

“At first?” Victor inquired. When I only growled at him he went on. “At first it was out of curiosity.”

“Come again?” I asked.

“You see I was a huntsman once. Well rather a specialist working for the Atlas Military and I was also one of the first to respond to that little scene you caused in Vale during the Vytal Festival.”

“Vytal Festival? What scene are you referring to?” I asked, I didn’t recall doing anything to draw attention to myself, at least not yet.

“Oh, right. You must not have gotten that part back yet. I am referring to your plan to turn Vale into a warzone so you could use the chaos to claim the maiden’s power and destroy Beacon. It worked by the way, well at least for the most part, but I guess you didn’t account for the silver eyed girl’s power.” Victor went on.

Silver eyed girl? Wait, that sounds familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it, and thinking about it was giving me a migraine. It wasn’t important right now anyway. “Wait, so you’re saying I already-”

“Destroyed Beacon, killed Ozpin, and claimed the maiden’s power? Yes, kind of, and yes. Congregations are in order I suppose.” Victor cut in before I could finish. His tone was clearly sarcastic, but I still couldn’t sense any deceit in what he was saying.

“Okay, then why am I here? Where do you come in and why have you been toying with my memories?” I inquired, making it clear that his continued existence depended on how he answered.

“It was like I was saying earlier. I was one of the first responders at Beacon during the fall. I was also the one who found and pulled you out of the rubble. I didn’t even know who you were at the time, but you clearly needed immediate medical attention, so I moved you to my personal tent for treatment. After I patched you up you started slipping in and out of consciousness, not aware enough to move around or react, but enough for me to get a glimpse into that head of yours. Once I found out the truth about who you were, it gave me an idea.” Victor said before pausing and taking on an almost nostalgic look.

That look irked me so I took a step forward and drove my knee into his chest hard, causing him to kneel over and gasp. “What kind of idea! Answer me now or so help me-”

“Cindy please, you need to calm down.” Victor pleaded.

“Don’t call me that, that is not my name!” I roared.

“Oh, right sorry. Though in my defense, I wasn’t the one who chose that name. I was actually against it at first since it was so similar.” Victor retorted.

“I don’t care where the name came from! You will answer the questions that I asked this instant!” I shouted as I pulled back on of my hands and allowing a flame to spring to life in my palm.

“Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing and answer me! This will be your last warning!” I seethed.

Victor coughed. “Okay, so you want to know why I did all this. I did it because I had to know.”

“Know what? What did you have to know?!”

“I had to know if I could change you.” Victor deadpanned.

In that moment I felt a new flash of rage erupt within me and it was all I could do to prevent my hands from ripping this man apart. “You wanted to know if you could change me? Change me how?” I asked.

“Isn’t that oblivious? I wanted to make you a better person.” Victor replied. “I wanted to see if even the worst person could become an upstanding member of society if they were just given the chance.”

“You wanted to reform me?” I said through a strained laugh. Is his guy for real? He can’t seriously think he could pull that off does he?

“That’s right.” Victor nodded. “I have always had an interest in psychology you see. That is kind of why I joined the military in the first place. Well partly to help pay for school, but more because of the fact that there was no shortage of traumatized soldiers who I could practice my craft with. Though, I never had the chance to work with someone who was truly criminally insane before. So when you, one of the worst criminal master minds the world had ever known fell right into my lap, well I couldn’t just let that chance slip by me now could I?”

I’ve heard enough of this madman’s ramblings. “You, you made me into your lab rat!” Nobody toys with me. Nobody can use me and live to tell the tale. “I hope you’ve said your prayers because I’m ending this little game of yours once and for all!” The room was now completely illumined solely by the flames I had conjured around me.

Victor made no move to escape me, instead only sighing in what seemed to be defeat. “Can I make one last request?” He asked.

Ah, is he finally going to plead for his life? I suppose I could hummer him. “Go ahead then, speak quickly and maybe I might consider it.”

Victor gave a nod before speaking in a soft tone. “All I will ask is that you take care of our little Ember, she’s innocent in all of this after all and I don’t want her to be left all alone.”

Something about what Victor just said struck a chord in me since I felt my body stall. Ember, who is that? Wait, those pictures on Cindy’s scroll, there was another person in them. A little girl that looked just like… Cindy. “Victor.”

“Yes?” Victor inquired.

“When you say our Ember, who are you referring to?” I asked, already knowing the answer but being mentally unprepared for it.

“Well I mean our daughter of course, though it seems like you can’t remember her either huh? Don’t worry, I’m sure it will come back to you soon enough.” Victor replied.

“This Ember, is she the girl from those photos on Cindy’s scroll?” I asked.

“That’s the one, isn’t she the most adorable thing?” Victor gushed.

That couldn’t be, that girl had to around six to seven years old. It couldn’t be mine, I mean Cindy’s child. “I see, and this Ember is Cindy’s-“

“Biological daughter? Yes she is.” Victor cut in, likely reading my thoughts. “By the way that makes her your daughter too. Just so we’re on the same page.”

“You’re lying.” I said flatly.

“Cinder, I’m not-“

“You’re lying!” I shouted. “I don’t know what you have put in my head, but I won’t let you trick me anymore!” I cried out as I pulled my fist back to strike. I saw real fear flash in Victor’s eyes for the first time since we began our little interaction and right when I was about to ignite him I heard the sound of movement coming from down the hall. “What was that!?” I asked glancing towards the source.

At first I saw nothing and was about to write it off as my mind playing tricks on me, but then I saw a wooden door on the end of the hall begin to slowly creek open. I stiffened and when a small head with dark hair and sleepy amber eyes peek out from behind it, my fire died.

“Mommy, daddy?” The child called out in a small groggy voice.

“Oh good morning sweetie, did we wake you up?” Victor inquired completely ignoring the fact I still had the guy pressed up against the wall.

“I heard yelling, are you fighting?” The girl asked in slightly more fearful voice.

“No, no sweetie. Your mom and I are just playing a game. It’s nothing to worry about. I am sorry for waking you though.” Victor replied before directing his gaze back at me. “Isn’t that right Cindy?”

“I umm,” I stammered suddenly, feeling like a deer in the headlights. I looked down towards the girl who looked way too much like me, no like Cindy. Her bright amber orbs were staring at me expectantly now. I couldn’t quite tell what she made of this situation, but she certainly seemed confused, though also a bit curious. “Yeah,” I finally managed as I released my grip on Victor. “It’s just a game.”

“Oh, I guess mom was winning then.” The girl declared, sounding relieved. Smart girl, maybe she really is mine. “Can I play?” Still a child though it seems.

“No, sorry sweetie, but it’s still time for you to be in bed.” Victor replied before he pushed past me and began to turn and lead the girl back towards what I assume to be her room.

“What, no fair! How come you get to play with mom and I can’t!” The girl pouted.

“Mommy isn’t feeling too well tonight sweetie, we were actually about to call it quits ourselves.” Victor retorted.

That caused the small girl to pause and turn back towards me with a worried expression. “Mommy is sick?” Then before Victor could reply she broke away from him and ran up to wrap her small arms around my waist, which she was having some trouble with since she only came up to my hips. “Get better soon!”

For a moment I was at a loss for words. All I could do was look down at the entity clamping onto me dumbstruck. It wasn’t until I heard Victor walking back towards us that I was snapped out of it. “Come along Ember, its bed time.” Victor urged as he grabbed hold of the girl and pried her off of me.

“But mommy,” The child began to complain.

“Will be fine,” Victor completed. “She just needs a little rest, kind of like another girl I know.”

After that, I watched as Victor led the girl back into her room and tucked her into her bed. Then after he wished her goodnight, he slipped back out of the room, slid the door shut behind him, and turned towards me. “So,” He began. “How’re we going to do this? You going to stick to the fire or should I go fetch a knife from the kitchen?”

It was odd that I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not when he made that offer. It didn’t matter though and he likely knew it already. “How old is she?” I asked in barely a whisper.

“Six, but she will be seven next month.” He replied.

“Sev-seven!?” I asked suddenly shaken. Victor gave a nod and an apologetic look. He likely knew why I was so startled. “H-how long, how much time am I missing?” I asked.

“Starting at the fall of Beacon we’ve been together for nearly ten years.” Victor replied.

“Ten years?” I asked more to myself than Victor. Since he made no attempt to reply he must have pick up on that as well. Quite the troublesome ability he has. “And I can’t recall any of it, is there anything we can do to fix this?” I asked.

Victor gave a nod. “The memories are still in there, just misplaced. So they should come back on their own in time, though there is no tell how long that will take. Given my experience with those suffering from memory loss, it could take anywhere from a few days to a few years to make a full recovery. However, there is another option.”

“That would be?” I asked.

“I could use my semblance again. Move the new memories back to the forefront, of course there is no tell if you will be able to retain your old ones.” Victor explained.

I gave a nod. Then I saw Victor’s eyes widened in surprise before I could even open my mouth to say the next line. “I don’t care if I remember. Rather, if you can I think I would prefer if I didn’t.”

“Really? Just like that you’re willing to give up your identity.” Victor asked.

“If Cindy and I are truly one and the same, then there must be something we see in this lifestyle that keeps us here. However, Cinder Fall can’t be trusted. I know what I am and I’m too far gone to live any other way, but Cindy is different. She is safer.” I replied.

“You really are a good mother.” Victor said. I sighed, knowing that he read my mind to see my true intentions again. “Well, if that’s what you want then so be it, come on.” He said reaching out to grasp my wrist and pull me along.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To our room, this is quite an exhausting process for the both of us so we’re going to need some sleep once we’re done.” Victor replied.

Before long we were back in Victor’s and Cindy’s, or rather my room. After that he motioned for me to sit down on the bed and he pulled up another chair so he could sit opposite me. “So what now, what do you want me to do?” I asked.

“Just look into my eyes.” Victor replied softly. I did as he instructed and met his gaze. There was a slight shimmer in those orbs that made me feel uneasy.

“Victor I,” I tried to speak, what I can’t really recall.

“It’s okay, I know.” Victor cut in.

“I’m getting, dizzy.” I said as I felt my head slump downward breaking eye contact.

“I know, it’s okay, just look at me.” Victor declared as he cupped my head in his hands and raised it back up to meet his gaze. I was really tired now. So much so, that I couldn’t hold myself up and I collapsed onto Victor’s chest. Then the last thing I head before darkness took me was Victor saying. “Goodbye Cinder, until we meet again.” Then there was nothing.


	2. Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinder has another rude awakening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, surprised to see this one? Yeah so am I to be honest. Wasn't sure I was going to come back to it, but I came up with some more ideas I wanted to explore.
> 
> Just a heads up, you may find that the tone in the chapters to come is a bit different from first chapter. Like it is a bit more up beat I guess. Kind of the point since this will mostly be a look into the daily lives of the Cross Family.
> 
> Just remember if you have any thoughts or suggestions for thinks you may want to see in the future, just leave a comment, I do pay attention to them.

I came to sometime in what I could only assume to be the mid afternoon, awoken by the steady stream of light that had started to pour in between the parted curtains of a window near my bed. The sun’s rays were warm and gentle, but it was still unwelcome.

I didn’t want to rise, not with how much my body ached, nor with how badly my head throbbed. This feeling, this continuous agonizing pulse that seemed to start in my skull before worming its way down my spine to every nerve in my body was pure hell. Whatever this pain was, it felt far worse than any migraine I’d ever experienced, and I’ve had more than my fair share.

Needless to say, I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. Not unless I forsook my slumber and joined the waking world, but I didn’t want to. Would an investigation even be worth the effort? Would knowing what caused this pain end my suffering? Perhaps it would, but perhaps it wouldn’t. Though, I very much doubted that it would simply go away on its own, so I begrudgingly allowed my eyes to flutter open.

As the haze of sleep left me and my vision finally began to clear, I was almost blinded by the light pouring in through the window. It wasn’t even particularly bright, but my good eye felt extra sensitive to the morning rays. Or at least I assumed it was the morning; I really had no point of reference having just woken up.

Gritting my teeth and forcing through the pain, I kept my eye open so it could adjust to the light, and I was rewarded with the sight of a somewhat familiar scene. Before me was a bedroom, one I had seen only once before. It was also a bedroom that I shouldn’t be in. This was a place I thought I’d never see again.

When my brain had caught up to what my good eye was showing me, I felt my heart leap into my throat before plummeting back down and sinking into the bottomless abyss that had suddenly formed in the pit of my stomach.

I was in Cindy Cross’ bedroom, the same one I had found myself in the time before.

“Why?” I muttered in disbelief.

I shouldn’t be here. Wasn’t I supposed to disappear? Forget everything and fade into memory? Yes, that was what was meant to happen. So why was I still here?! These thoughts began to swirl around in my mind causing my head to start throbbing with renewed vigor.

“Ugh.” I muttered as I cupped my head in my hands. “No, don’t panic. You don’t have that luxury.” I reminded myself.

I needed to think. There had to be an explanation for this, perhaps I’m just having another relapse. Victor did say that I had them before, but from what I’d gathered from the last one was that I’d never recalled any of the previous relapses. At least I hadn’t before, of course that clearly wasn’t the case this time, so that leaves one question. What has changed?

“If I had to wager a guess, I would say you have my dear.” A familiar voice chimed in from the direction of the doorway

Despite my shame I was caught unprepared and felt myself jump at the sudden interruption. Instantly my eyes snapped toward the entrance, my body tensing as if preparing to either attack or fend off one. A fruitless exercise since it was not an enemy standing there in the doorway, but rather my-or should I say Cindy’s-husband Victor Cross.

Victor looked about the same as the last time I had seen him. About the only noteworthy differences were his clothes and the small tray he was currently holding. Based on the smell I had to assume it was food of some kind, breakfast by the look of it. Then there were his eyes, they were watching me cautiously. His expression was set in an odd way, somewhere between concern and curiosity.

I quickly tried to shove down my anxiety before speaking. “Victor, I” I began before pausing to consider my next words a bit more carefully. “I think that we may have a problem.”

Victor looked confused for the briefest of moments before his eyes shimmered and widened. The moment after that and they more focused than I had ever seen. “So it would seem.” He calmly declared before stepping into the room proper.

“It is quite the problem indeed.” Victor mused as he drew closer, rounding the bed so he could set his tray down on my nightstand. Then took a seat on the edge of the bed and turned his body so that he was facing me. His face still showed some concern, but he was wearing a smile now. “But before we get into that, why don’t you have some breakfast?” He asked while motioning towards the tray he had just sat down. “You’ve been sleeping in for a lot longer than usual. You must be feeling quite peckish by now.”

Was he being serious? I couldn’t quite tell, though if our last encounter was anything to go by, he wasn’t the easiest man to read. So I just raised my eyebrow in silent question and waited to gauge his reaction.

To my surprise Victor simply shrugged in response before reaching over for a small plate and offering it to me. His eyes were still focused on me, but there didn’t seem to be any heat behind them. No masked threat. So I chanced a glance down at the offered plate. What I saw was a pile of scrambled eggs, a few crispy strips of bacon, and half an orange with a set of eating utensils set off to the side.

He wants to know my first impression? Well the food wasn’t anything special, at least not compared to what I was used to. It also looked about as good as it smelled. The good news was that the food smelled surprising grood and now that it was in front of me, I realized that I really was quite famished.

“I suppose I could eat.” I replied as I gracefully snatch up the plate. Then with the food in hand, I had to fight off my more primal instincts that were telling me to start shoveling bacon and eggs into my mouth. Instead I carefully wrapped a strip of bacon around my fork before stabbing it into the mound of scrambled egg and taking a big bite.

I could now hear Victor chuckling to himself from his position beside me. “What’s so amusing?” I asked trying to not sound too affronted.

“You don’t need to hold yourself back on my account you know? It’s not like anyone else is here to see you.” Victor replied.

My fork paused as I shot Victor a scowl. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, you don’t?” Victor asked as he tilted his head to the side and leaned in closer to whisper. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t!” I declared more forcefully as I felt the familiar sensation of heat coming to my fingertips, and for reasons unknown, I was also feeling it in my cheeks as well.

“Well if you say so dear.” Victor said as he chuckled and leaned away once more.

A moment of silence followed as I continued to eat my breakfast, in peace thankfully. It was clear that Victor didn’t buy my feigned ignorance, but for once he didn’t feel the need to call me out on it. Perhaps it was simply out of the kindness of his heart. Though personally, I would wager it had more to do with how I was seriously considering sticking my fork in his eye.

Neither of us spoke again until I had just finished my meal and was setting down my silverware. “Napkin?” Victor offered as he held out a few white sheets for me to take.

“Well aren’t we prepared?” I said dryly before accepting one of the offering and using it to degrease my hands and mouth as best as I could.

“Well I do try.” Victor declared in a satisfied tone.

Another moment of silence followed. This time it seemed as though even Victor was unsure of how to proceed. That or perhaps he just wanted me to believe that was the case. Either way, I was the first to open dialog this time.

“So,” I started, my voice taking on a slight edge. Victor heard it and turned to give me his full attention. “You know what’s going on with me, right?”

“Yes.” Victor said while adding a curt nod.

So he did realize. “So you know that I’m Cinder, not Cindy?” I asked just to be sure. Victor gave another nod. “Alright, that makes this easier.” I said before taking a moment to consider what to say next. “How long has it been since my last episode?”

For the first time since the conversation began Victor’s expression seemed to fall, if ever so slightly. “Look, I’m not going to sugar coat this. It’s been less than twenty-four hours. So it might be more accurate to say that your ‘last episode’ hasn’t really ended yet.”

That was what I was afraid of. “Why, why hasn’t it ended?” I asked already knowing the answer, but still needing to confirm it. “I thought you were going to fix this. So why didn’t you? Did something go wrong?”

Victor looked away. “In a manner of speaking, yes, something did go wrong. It wasn’t that I didn’t try to help you.” He said as if it were a matter of fact. Then his expression dimmed even more. “I tried all night in fact.”

That statement got my attention and now that I looked closer at Victor’s face, I could see that he had bags under his eyes. Did he not sleep at all last night? “And I assume you failed?” Victor gave a weak nod. “Why? You said you could erase me. You said that you’ve been doing it for ten long years. So what’s changed Victor?”

“You have, Cinder.” Victor said bluntly almost spitting the words. Then he turned back to meet my eyes. “It is like I said before. The human mind is an incredible thing. It is not only able to learn, but adapt, and it doesn’t like to be tampered with. It just seems that yours has built up a bit of resistance, or rather a complete immunity to my memory alteration abilities.”

“And you didn’t think to make more plans for when you’re powers failed?!” I asked.

“I’ve never considered that this was a possibility before recently. After all, I’ve never used my semblance on the same person as much as I have you. If I had known, perhaps I would have done things differently, but I didn’t have enough information.” Victor replied.

“So Cindy and I are stuck like this?!” I demanded. “We’re both doomed to suffer because of your incompetence?!” I shouted as I stuck an accusing finger in his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Victor apologized before pausing and adding. “For you and Cindy.”

Hearing Victor say those words caused another spike of anger to shoot straight into my head as a jolt of unwelcome fear went down my spine. I had to bite my lip and clench my fists to bring myself back into control before speaking again. “You seem awfully calm about this whole situation. Aren’t you concerned that your wife and the mother of your child has just been replaced by a wanted criminal.”

“Replaced isn’t the right word. It is not as if Cindy has ceased to exist.” Victor countered. “After all, even from the very beginning you and Cindy were one and the same. If given enough time you will be my beloved again, semblance or no semblance.”

I will be his beloved again he says. I couldn’t help the scoff that escaped my lips as I crossed my arms over my chest. “And you expect me to play along with this until you either win me over or Cindy’s memories return?”

“Well I don’t expect you to do it for me.” Victor replied in a tone that didn’t imply defeat.

That was when an image of a little girl bearing my resemblance popped into my head. “But you expect me to do it for her, don’t you?” I asked.

“Am I wrong to do so?” Victor asked with a raised eyebrow.

I let out a defeated sigh before replying. “Those abilities of yours are quite troubling, how does your wife even put up with you?”

Victor shrugged as he stood up and began to collect the mess of dishes. “Years of practice. Though to be honest, she’s still not too fond of them. I’ve been trying to reel them back in a bit recently, but after using them every day for so long, well you start to feel naked without them.”

I suppose I can get that. Knowing everything that was happening all around me at all times would be quite the advantage. Not something I would want to give up easily, especially when I know that there are people after me, but still. “It sounds like the type of excuse an addict would use.”

Victor began to laugh out loud. “Perhaps you're right,” I raised my eyebrow in silent question. “Okay, there is no perhaps. Though, you do seem to understand my qualms with letting these abilities go. People usually lie to each other for a reason and while most would argue that honesty is always the best policy, I disagree. No one is perfect and many hold resentment in their hearts, even towards those they supposedly hold dear. However, they usually keep those feelings to themselves because they know everyone, themselves included would be happier that way. Stripping that vale away can be hazardous for a relationship. However-”

“Let me guess,” I interrupted. “You already know all my deepest darkest secrets. Is that correct?” Victor looked thoughtful for a moment, but eventually gave a nod. “How about Cindy, does she know yours?”

“Some.” Victor replied with a shrug.

My eyes narrowed as I spoke again. “Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it?”

Victor gave me a sad smile as he spoke. “It isn’t I’ll admit, but there are things that are best left buried. There are things I’d rather not know about you if I’m being honest. My abilities don’t really allow me to pick and choose what I learn. I guess in the end, life just isn’t fair. Of course I’m sure few know that fact more than you.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “You truly are a troubling man. Can I have a divorce? I think I’m better off taking my chances elsewhere.” I wasn’t being serious of course, and Victor clearly knew it.

“Sorry dear, I’m yours for better or worse.” Victor replied.

“Until death do us part?” I added, making it sound like a question. Victor paused to look me in the eyes before I put on a vicious smile and continued. “You know I could arrange that?”

Victor laughed again this time a bit nervously. “Should I be worried? Come to think of it, I suppose you do know where I sleep now.”

Victor’s off handed statement caused me to take pause. Then I felt my body turn to steal a glance at the empty side bed I was currently laying in. It was clearly made for two, and that realization caused a far more awkward and unwelcome thought to enter my mind. We sleep together, or at least Cindy does. Of course that should’ve been obvious given the fact they we’re not only married, but live under the same roof, and even had a child. However, I suppose it just hadn’t sunk in until now. It just felt like this was somebody else’s life and it had nothing to do with me.

I wasn’t embarrassed of course. I’d lain with my fair share of men in the past, many of which I had no real feelings for, and all for varying reasons. Though never for love and perhaps that was the problem. This wasn’t like those rare moments of self indulgence, this, whatever Cindy and Victor had, it was clearly something more. Something I’ve never experienced before and never imagined I actually would. What sane man could love a woman as wicked as I?

“I do love you, you know?” Victor declared, no doubt hearing my thoughts.

My eyes widened for the briefest of moments both surprised by Victor’s words and my own reaction to them, but then I had to clench them shut so I could suppress my growing urge to strangle Victor right then in there. Why is speaking with this man so frustrating? Curse him and curse that bloody semblance! Okay, just breathe and relax. You are Cinder Fall, you can handle this.

“Don’t you mean that you love Cindy?” I finally managed to say.

“Yes,” Victor replied without hesitation, then quickly adding. “And no.” I raised an eyebrow signaling him to explain. He complied. “To say I like one but not the other would be no different than claiming I like chickens, but not their eggs.”

“Pardon?” I said, feeling no more enlightened than before Victor began his little explanation.

“It’s a metaphor.” Victor replied curtly causing my blood pressure to spike and my fists to clench.

“I know what a metaphor is Victor! Tell me what you mean by it!” I spat.

Victor’s infuriating laugh once again entered my ears before he spoke. “I know, I’m just teasing.”

“Well it’s not welcome!” I roared.

“Alright, alright, I understand that this is quite difficult for you and I suppose that was in poor taste.” Victor said as he waved his hands in surrender. Then he took a moment to clear his throat before going on. “Now as I was saying, while there might be those who like eggs or chickens, but not the other. These people tend to forget that they’re effectively one and the same. If chickens ceased to be, then there would be no more eggs. If their eggs ceased to be, then there would be no more chickens.”

“So what you’re saying is,” I began as I contemplated Victor’s words.

Victor gave a nod likely seeing where my train of thought was heading. “I’m saying that the two of you aren’t as different as you seem to think. I mean if there was no Cinder Fall, then there would be no Cindy Cross. After all, everything that Cindy is now or will ever be has always existed inside of you somewhere even before the two of us even met. All I did was move aside all of the baggage that kept those traits from coming to the surface.”

“So what then? Are you saying that your wife is also a wicked woman who would do whatever it took to achieve her goals?” I asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Victor admitted with a shrug. The easy admission caught me off guard and before I could even start to ponder what he meant by his words, he went on. “Just because Cindy’s set aside the sword to become a wife and a mother doesn’t mean that she is a perfect person devoid of selfish desire. The two of us have disagreements all the time and hell, you’d basically have to be a little evil to make a living as an attorney.”

“And you're okay with that? Don’t you worry about how our daughter will turn out with somebody like me around?” I find myself asking, but internally I was starting to wonder if Victor himself might be an even worse influence.

“Well it’s been working for us so far, and even if you don’t believe you’re great with Ember. She will never admit it, but you’re definitely her favorite. I think it’s because you spoil her rotten.” Victor declared.

“Or simply because you’re insufferable and our daughter has good taste.” I countered causing Victor to laugh. Then I took a moment to consider his words. A lot of what he’d said was hard to believe. Though, maybe he was right on a few counts. If there was anything I’d learned over the years, it was that people don’t change, but they could do better. Perhaps that was all this was. Then something that Victor had said a moment earlier came back to me and I found myself feeling curious. “Wait, did you say that I’m a lawyer?”

Victor gave a nod. “Yep, passed the bar exam about four years ago. Now you work for a small law firm in the downtown area. Nothing to write home about, but it pays well enough.”

Well that was surprising. Who would’ve thought I’d find myself in law enforcement? Though I suppose what lawyers do is more akin to bending laws rather than enforcing them. One issue though. “Isn’t that a bit risky for us? Court cases can get fairly high profile.”

Victor shook his head. “Na, that isn’t an issue, at least it hasn’t been yet. Like I said, it’s a small time firm. They don’t really get any high profile cases and even if they did, you’re still a junior employee. So even on the off chance something big came along, they likely wouldn’t have you working the case, and of course you could always just turn it down if they asked.”

“I see. Well I suppose I should maintain my cover then. What is my work schedule?” I asked.

“I believe you keep a to-do-list on your scroll so it should be listed in there.” Victor replied while pointing to the device laying on the nightstand. “Technically you should be there right now, but I called in for you. I figured that you could use the rest after last night.”

“Then I suppose I should be thanking you. What did you tell them precisely?” I asked thinking it was best to keep our story straight.

“That you and Ember came down with the flu and that I’m staying home to look after you two. There has been a bit of that going around lately so it made for a good alibi.” Victor explained.

“So Ember is here?” I asked. “I assume she would normally have school at this hour.”

“Yes to both. She is currently down stairs in the living room watching cartoons. I don’t think she could be more thrilled. Think you’re ready to go say hi?” Victor asked.

Was I? I certainly didn’t feel ready, but this couldn’t be put off forever. “Yes, just give me a moment to get dressed.” That means leave by the way, just in case it wasn’t clear.

Victor laughed mirthfully, no doubt hearing my inner monologue. “Certainly, take all the time you need. Your wardrobe is over there,” He said, motioning to a walk-in-closet on the far side of the room. “I’ll be down stairs.” Then with that he quickly stepped out of the room and disappeared down the hall.

///////////////////////////////////////////////

It took me no less than twenty minutes to find an outfit that I liked, not that Cindy had bad taste of course. She was still me after all. However, there was certainly a bit of an age gap between us, at least mentally, and I wasn’t quite ready to dawn the clothes of a mother. Most of her clothes were designed more for comfort than to be stylish and it showed.

About the only things in ‘my’ wardrobe that were even close to what I used to wear were either too formal, or too risque to wear around the house. So instead I settled on a simple red silk blouse and a pair of dark jean pants.

Once I was dressed I quickly made my way to the stairwell only to stall at the top for a moment as a fresh wave of uncertainty hit me. If I went down there, I was going to see that child, my daughter.

“Ember.” I said allowed, rolling the name around in my head, trying to make sense of it.

Hearing the name filled me with an odd sense of warm familiarity, like I’d heard it a million times before, and perhaps I had. However, I could only remember our brief interaction from the night before. That wasn’t much to build the foundation of our relationship on and so I was still not quite sure how I felt about that girl.

Was Ember truly my daughter, or did Victor just pick a random child off the street just to fool me? Sure we had similar features, but black hair wasn’t exactly rare, and a pair of contact lens would be all it took to change her eye color. Was I being paranoid? Perhaps, but I certainly wouldn’t put it past the man, not after what I’d seen already.

With that said, would it even matter if Ember were mine or not? She certainly seemed to believe I was her mother and perhaps that was enough.

Surely I couldn’t do any worse of a job than my own mother. That woman was living, or at least formerly living proof that giving birth to a child didn’t automatically make you a parent. All she ever did for me was open my eyes up to just how cruel humanity could be.

I bit my lip in agitation. I didn’t like to think about that woman. Long dead and still giving me a headache, if only I could kill her all over again, then maybe I could find some peace of mind. Of course nothing in life is ever so simple.

Letting out a deep sigh I pushed those thoughts away. This situation was already complicated enough without me dredging up the past. So for the time being I just needed to focus on the here and now. With that thought in mind I finally began to descend the stairs.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs I found myself in what appeared to be a study of some sort. I’m sure that I had passed through here the night before, but it had been dark, and my mind had been focused on other things. So I hadn’t taken the time to look around this section of the house. Now that I wasn’t in a hurry, I figured I could spare it a bit more than a glance.

As one would expect of a study, most of the space was taken up by bookshelves, but there were also a few oddities here and there. There was a single globe, a few maps, ancient weapons, and artifacts. All of these things were interesting, but there was nothing that really caught my eye.

Towards the center of the space were some plush armchairs and a large mahogany desk. Scattered around this area of the room I could see several tomes set apart from the rest. Upon closer inspection I found that most of these were either dedicated to the four kingdoms law, human psychology, and oddly enough there were even a few on robotic engineering.

“I suppose the good doctor is well read.” I mused before I snatched up one of the books to skim through. However it was about as interesting as I had expected, so I snapped it shut, and sat it back down.

Then I turned to a few official looking documents piled here and there. “Hmm, looks like it’s tax season.” Quickly sorting through the tax forms I found out two rather important facts.

Firstly, much to my surprise we were still in the Kingdom of Vale. Considering what I did in the capital, you’d think he would’ve had us flee the Kingdom as soon as possible. Perhaps the borders increased security, or we had fled, but just decided to come back. A lot of time has passed after all.

The second thing I learned was that my supposed lover was doing quite well for himself. A six digit gross income was nothing to sneeze at. I never even got paid for my service to the Queen. Of course if lien was required for our mission, Salem could arrange any amount we’d need, so money was never really a factor. It also wasn’t what I was after anyway.

Moving on I found a half empty bottle of my favorite wine, Desert Rose, along a set of glasses perched up on a shelf under the desk. “I guess Cindy uses this study as well.” I said before I popped the cork and took an experimental sniff, I could tell that it hadn’t been sitting for long, and was still good to drink. With that realization, I felt a smile begin to work its way onto my face. “Well it would be a shame for it to go to waste. I’m sure Cindy won’t mind sharing a glass.”

A moment later and I was sat behind the desk enjoying my drink, and that was when I heard the sound of footsteps coming from outside the study. Looking up I saw the door that separated the study from the rest of the house swing open and Victor was now standing in the threshold.

When our eyes met, Victor let out a sigh of relief and spoke. “There you are. I was beginning to wonder.” I hummed a non-committive response as I continued to enjoy my wine. Then Victor stepped into the room and made towards the desk. “What’re you doing in here anyway?”

“Is that not oblivious?” I retorted while lifting my glass up towards Victor like I was making a toast.

Victor let out a light chuckle. “Yeah, looks like you found your stash. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised there.”

“What is that suppose to mean?” I snapped while shooting the good doctor one of my best glares. “I do hope you’re not suggesting I have a drinking problem.”

“A problem? No, not at all.” Victor quickly replied before waiting a moment and adding. “Rather I’d go as far to say you have it all figured out at this point.”

Was that a joke? Does he figure himself a comedian now? I pondered.

Then when I met his eyes again and I saw the amusement in them, I knew he was just taking the piss out of me. So I gave it the only response it deserved: none whatsoever.

Realizing I wasn’t going to play along, Victor let out a sigh and muttered. “Well I suppose it is happy hour somewhere.” Then he came to sit down on top of the desk beside me and added. “Trying to calm your nerves?”

I shrugged. “A bit I suppose, though I’m surprised you’re not asking to join me. I’d think you’d be just as stressed out as I am. If not more so.”

“Well you’re not wrong, and it is tempting, but at least one of us needs to keep it together right now.” Victor responded before directing a meaningful look towards the open doorway.

Through it I could vaguely make out the sounds of a child’s laughter and an odd cacophony of random sounds and voices that I could only assume were coming from the television. The message was clear, but I felt the need to ask anyway. “You mean for her, don’t you?” I inquired.

Victor gave a nod. “She’s worried about you, you know.”

“Worried?” I asked, raising an eyebrow and stealing another glance towards the source of the laughter. “She doesn’t sound all that worried.”

Victor let out a weak laugh. “She’s a child, easily distracted, but still old enough to worry about her mother’s wellbeing.”

I let out another sigh as I massaged the bridge of my nose. “Well, I suppose her mother shouldn’t keep her waiting then.” With that said I quickly gulped down what remained of my wine, set the glass down, and made to stand. Victor followed suit.

“Shall we?” Victor asked as he motioned me along.

Without another word shared between us, Victor and I made our way down the hall and into the living room. There we found our little girl sitting cross-legged on the floor. As I expected, she had been watching TV, rather intently I might add. Though once we entered the room, it didn’t take her long to notice us, and when she did, she sprang up onto her feet and charged towards me.

Seeing the small human form charging towards me almost caused my huntress reflexes to kick in. Victor must’ve noticed as well, because he placed his hand on my shoulder to keep me steady and divert my attention.

“Mommy!” Ember squealed as she practically threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around my waist. After rubbing her face against me for a moment she looked up to meet my bewildered gaze and asked. “Are you feeling better now?”

I hesitated for a moment, not really sure what to say or do in this situation. It didn’t help that I wasn’t okay, that much I was certain of, but I couldn’t tell her that. So for now, I would just need to wing it. After taking a moment to clear my throat and collect myself, I finally found my voice. “I’m fine, Ember. How about you h-honey, are you happy to have the day off?”

Ember smiled widely while nodding her head vigorously. “Yeah, school is so boring! I’d much rather be here with you!”

“R-really?” I muttered.

“Yeah!” Ember cheered. “By the way could I have a cookie? I’m hungry.”

After hearing that, I felt a nervous laugh escape me. Well isn’t this kid an honest one. Well that or a very manipulative one. If she really is my daughter I will need to be careful or she might try to extort ice-cream out of me next.

Though I didn’t really care if she had a snack, I prided myself on my ability to assume a persona, so I tried to think about how a mother would respond to such a request. “Didn’t you just have breakfast?” I asked before looking to Victor for confirmation. He gave me only a smile and a shrug.

“Yeah, but that was like half an hour ago and I haven’t had dessert yet!” Ember argued before adding. “Please, pretty please!”

Do people usually have dessert after breakfast? I somehow doubt it, but whatever. “Fine,” I relented causing a cheer of glee to erupt from Ember. “But before that could you tell me what you’re watching?” I asked feeling slightly curious.

Ember looked confused for a moment before turning to look back towards the television.

On screen was a rather flashy show with what appeared to be a team of real people dressed in color coated armor. What caught my attention was the fact that all the heroes appeared to be faunus and by the look of it, they were fighting a group of hooded men and women whose armor vaguely resembled that of the White Fang. Just palette swapped and with a slightly altered emblem. If that wasn’t a political statement I didn’t know what was.

It was also a show I didn’t recognize. Of course that wasn’t too surprising given how many years I was missing and the rather large age gap between Ember and myself. Though even without those factors in play, I had never really watched much television to begin with.

Still, I had a hard time believing that any network would pick up a show about a bunch of faunus heroes fighting their own kind.

Ember’s confusion seemed to transform into humor before she spoke. “Come on mommy, you know the Faunus Rangers!”

“Faunus Rangers?” I muttered in confusion before looking towards Victor for help.

Luckily he came through this time and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “This is one of Ember’s favorite shows. You watch it with her from time to time, not one of your favorites, but it keeps her entertained. Oh, also she is a big fan of the red ranger.”

I gave a nod of thanks before leaning away and addressing Ember. “Oh right, the Faunus Rangers. I must still be tired since I didn’t recognize them for a moment there.”

“That is probably just because they finally found the ancient ranger temple and got their new armor in this episode!” Ember declared excitedly. “It was so cool, mommy!”

“I see,” Well that is a convenient excuse, but whatever I’ll take it. “So what’s happening now?” I asked, trying to find something else to talk about.

“Umm,” Ember began as she turned to glance at the TV. Then her eyes widened when she realized the heroes were fighting and she was missing it. “They’re fighting the bad guys! Come on mommy we’re missing it!” She declared before she latched onto my arm and began to tug me along.

Ember’s arms were small, but surprisingly strong, and I was nearly pulled over. Luckily my instincts kicked in and I was spared that embarrassment. Victor still had himself a laugh at my expense anyway, but I patiently ignored him.

A moment later and I found myself sat on the floor with an excitable little girl crawling into my lap. An odd situation to be sure, but it was made even odder by the fact that there was a perfectly good couch just a few feet behind us. However, Victor soon sat himself there and began to spread himself out like he was getting ready for a nap. To be fair, the guy looked like he could use it.

On screen I saw the heroes squaring off with who I could only assume was the big bad of the episode, if only because they looked a bit different from the lackeys. The whole spectacle was just ridicules, the characters kept making strange poses that seemed to serve no purpose, though they did seem to make the grass behind them explode for some reason.

The villain was even worse, too much talk, and not nearly enough action. If they really wanted to kill the heroes they could’ve done it about a dozen times by now, but they hadn’t, and apparently according to Ember they could even grow giant at anytime. However, they always seemed to hold off on that until the last second. Which would be fine if they had the upper hand without it, but just wasn’t the case. This is just the height of foolishness, what is even the point of such power if you’re not going to use it?

There was one character that did catch my eye however. The supposed leader of the team, a red clad sword wielding female faunus with a pair of antenna sticking out of her helmet. Most of the heroes and villains clearly had some experience in stunt work, but none struck me as real combatants, but the red one was different. Her movements were fluid and functional. Every step she took, every stance, and swing of her sword suggested huntsmen training.

“Hey Ember, that red one is your favorite right?” I asked.

Ember shifted in my lap to allow her to look back at me before giving a quick nod. “Yep, Captain Cail is the coolest! She is the ultimate hero of justice! No bad guy stands a chance against her!”

“Oh, is she now?” I retorted. Ember gave another nod in response. “Is she cooler than me then?”

“Umm,” Ember mumbled as she pressed a finger to her lips and began to hum in thought. The fact that she had to think about it was kind of disappointing, but then she shrugged and replied. “Na, mom is still the cooler I guess, but Cail is still a close second!”

Before I realized what had come over me, I began to laugh out loud, and my arms moved on their own, pulling the small girl closer to my chest. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” I said while making a note to disregard my earlier note about the ice-cream.

Ember laughed along with me, but our fun was suddenly cut short when a gut-wrenching scream erupted from the Television. Instantly our eyes snapped back to the screen just in time to see the villain, who now stood several stories taller, toppling over backwards whaling in pain the whole way down.

Then once the oversized villain struck the ground, their body detonated, and released a fiery blast that would’ve easily leveled a city block if the scale of it were taken at face value. Of course the heroes looked like they couldn’t have been any more proud of themselves, even going as far as to strike one last victory pose right before the camera panned out and a slightly obnoxious theme song began to play. A moment later and the screen cut to black and a credits screen appeared.

“Ahhhhh! We missed the zord battle! Mom you distracted me!” Ember wined before puffing up her cheeks in an annoyed pout and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Oh, I’m sorry honey. Perhaps you could watch it again some other time.” I responded. Though, honestly I didn’t really see the appeal of this show, but I suppose it was a small step up from cartoons.

“But this is a new episode! It’s not going to rerun until next week!” Ember complained.

What? She only needs to wait a week and she’s this upset? Geese this girl is lucky she’s cute though, or a spanking would be the least of her worries. “Come now dear, mommy’s sorry, and complaining about it isn’t going to make this any better.”

The girl didn’t relent, instead choosing to puff up her cheeks more and she refused to meet my gaze. For a moment it seemed like we were at an impasse, but then attentions were once again drawn to the screen, the sound of the Red Ranger’s voice calling out to us. It looked like it was some sort of post episode promotional thing so I quickly lost interest, but Ember’s eyes lit up.

“Hey kids, Captain Cail here!” The armored woman declared while waving at the camera. “Did you know that you can now see us fight the forces of evil live and in person?! No? Well you can! This week only at Schnee Land Amusement Park from 2pm-8pm! Won’t you come join us!?”

As the red clad ranger prattled on, I more felt Ember’s excitement growing than heard, since her body began to vibrate in my arms. Then once the sales pitch was finally over, the girl’s head snapped back to stare at me. “Oh my gosh, mom can we go!? I want to meet Cail!”

“Wait, what!? We can’t just go!” I snapped back causing Ember’s expression to become rigid.

“Why not!? I want to go!?” Ember shot back.

Because I have other things on my plate right now and I don’t want to go to some bloody tourist trap that I’ve never even heard of! I wanted to scream, but instead I was left scrambling for an answer Ember would accept. “Well because honey, look umm… Hey, are you going to help me out here!?” I yelled back at Victor who was still lazing on the couch.

Hearing my call, Victor’s eyes popped open to look in my direction. “I don’t see why we can’t go.” He chimed in earning a cheer for Ember.

“What, you can’t be serious!?” I hissed.

Victor let out a deep yawn before speaking up again. “Yeah, well it’s not like Schnee Land is that far from here. It is only about an hour long drive and heck, the day is still young. We might even be able to make the first showing.”

“Hurray, thank you daddy!” Ember squealed before she shot up out of my lap and threw herself on top of Victor. The man in question took it in stride laughing the whole time.

I on the other hand was left with nothing but a headache and the sinking suspicion that the first day of my new life was going to be a long one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go, it looks like Cinder is going to the amusement park in the next chapter. I hope you guys are looking forward to it! Again, don't forget to leave your thoughts, questions, and suggestions in the reviews. Until next time.


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